


turns

by orphan_account



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M, really just a drabble, slight mention of ocd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 08:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8049910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The first time Michael meets him, the bus is late. 3 minutes. The man glances at Michael. Once, twice, then thrice. As if he wants to say something. He doesn’t, and Michael turns away.





	turns

The first time Michael meets him, the bus is late.  _ 3 minutes.  _ The man glances at Michael. Once, twice, then  _ thrice. _ As if he wants to say something. He doesn’t, and Michael turns away.

 

They are connected by one thing - the bus.  _ Number 276. _ It screeches to a halt, and the doors swing open. Michael holds on to a handlebar above him, swinging along with the bus around the curves of the road. He knows this route. He knows the number of turns it takes until it reaches his stop.  _ 9. _

 

The bus jolts particularly hard, and Michael is thrown off balance just that little bit more than usual. The man notices, and gives up his seat for Michael, as if attempting to be chivalrous. Michael accepts it, and sits down.  _ 6 more turns. _

 

The sunlight streaming through the windows marked with hair gel hits the side of his face. The traffic around them is a cacophony of honking. The air is too dry, too cold and it stings the inside of his nose. Still, he closes his eyes, feeling the movement of the bus in the way it lurches past amber traffic lights.  _ 4 more turns - no that’s not right, no no no no no no no no no. _

 

_ 3 more turns. _

 

Michael’s fingers unclench. He opens his eyes, and the man is looking at him. The man looks away, a slight blush on his face. 

 

Michael thinks of the man again when he rides the bus home. He isn’t there. Michael goes back to counting.  _ 6 more turns. _

 

The next time Michael sees him again, it’s at night. He goes to the bus stop, sits down on the bench, waiting for the bus. The man comes after a few minutes, startling slightly when he saw Michael. They sit in silence. It’s been _129_ _seconds_ since the man sat down. 

 

The man looks as if he’s going to say something to Michael, but he doesn’t. They sit in silence. 

 

The bus isn’t late this time.  _ 10.12pm. _

 

They sit beside each other on the empty bus, the fluorescent lights above them flickering slightly. Michael can see the red traffic lights reflected in the man’s eyes. The bus cruises through the roads, the headlights casting yellowed light on the tar of the road in front of them. A drop on the window, then two, then  _ three _ , then it’s raining. They sit in near silence, accompanied by the gentle pitter-patter on the windows of the bus. 

 

Right before Michael gets off the bus, the man takes a deep breath and hands Michael a piece of paper with a name and a number written on it.

 

_ calum hood - 0491 575 191 _

Michael hesitates, then takes the slip of paper from the man. He holds it in his hand, then steps off the bus, under the shelter of the bus stop where rain is rhythmically dripping off the roof. 

 

The numbers in his head stop for a split second, when his eyes meet Calum’s through the window dotted with water droplets. They hold the eye contact, until the bus drives off, the tail lights growing smaller. 

  
He smiles when he realises Calum’s number is divisible by 3.  _ Perfect. _

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! pls do leave a comment if you liked it or if you think there's anything i could have improved on! this is inspired by a fic i read back in 2013 - from another fandom and i can't find the fic anymore aaaa !!


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